Juicing things up inside

Renewed energy in the paint gives Irish hope.

Renewed energy in the paint gives Irish hope.

January 27, 2006|TOM NOIE Tribune Staff Writer

Silence sometimes will suffice at halftime of college basketball games when Notre Dame sits on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Five years ago, with Notre Dame down by eight points at intermission against conference rival Georgetown, strategy sessions were put on hold as the Irish gathered inside an MCI Center locker room. "We really didn't talk about too much, just ate a lot of oranges," former Irish All-American Troy Murphy told the Tribune after Notre Dame rallied for a 78-71 victory on Jan. 27, 2001. When the Irish gathered after 20 minutes Tuesday, they trailed the Hoyas 36-28. It was time to trade any fruit for a fresh focus, time for some soul-searching. Notre Dame was down by nine less than six minutes in and eventually fell into a 15-point hole as Georgetown shot 44.4 percent from the floor, including 50 percent from 3, during the first 20 minutes. The Irish effort simply was not acceptable. "We were pretty soft," said senior tri-captain Chris Quinn. "We were not the team we had been in some of the games where we were battling. It was time for us to reevaluate ourselves and pick the energy up." Offensively, that meant concentrating less on the 3-point line. Of Notre Dame's 27 field-goal attempts in the first half, 15 were from beyond the arc. That changed for a stretch in the second half. Instead of making it a H-O-R-S-E contest, the Irish decided to drive the ball to the basket. Torin Francis got in deep twice for easy hoops, as did Rob Kurz, who also unveiled a left-handed runner off the dribble. Quinn tossed in three layups. When his floater fell through with just under 11 minutes remaining, what had been a 10-point deficit became a tie game, GEORGETOWN 85, NOTRE DAME 82 (2OT) NOTRE DAME (82)min fg ft rb pf tp 43 Rob Kurz 6-11 1-3 7 2 14 25 Torin Francis 3-6 3-6 12 5 9 50 Chris Quinn 9-22 4-4 4 4 26 47 Colin Falls 5-15 3-3 3 4 18 21 Kyle McAlarney 1-6 0-0 2 0 2 22 Rick Cornett 2-3 1-4 5 2 5 8 Luke Zeller 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 34 Russell Carter 2-6 3-4 4 1 8 200 TEAM 4 TOTALS 28-70 15-24 42 19 82 3-point fg-fga included in totals above: Falls 5-13, Quinn 4-11, Kurz 1-3, Carter 1-3, Zeller 0-1, McAlarney 0-3. TOTALS: 11-34 (32.4 percent). GEORGETOWN (85)min fg ft rb pf tp 32 Brandon Bowman 2-9 4-4 6 3 8 46 Jeff Green 4-13 3-4 7 3 12 33 Roy Hibbert 8-13 2-2 13 2 18 39 Ashanti Cook 5-8 3-4 2 5 15 44 Jonathan Wallace 3-10 1-2 2 3 10 36 Darrel Owens 5-7 5-6 5 3 18 16 Jessie Sapp 1-4 2-2 3 2 4 4 Marc Egerson 0-0 0-2 1 0 0 200 TEAM 6 TOTALS 28-64 20-26 45 21 85 3-point fg-fga included in totals above: Owens 3-5, Wallace 3-6, Cook 2-3, Green 1-5, Bowman 0-2, Sapp 0-2. TOTALS: 9-23 (39.1 percent). Halftime score: Georgetown 36, Notre Dame 28. End of Regulation Tied at 69. End of first overtime: Tied at 76. Shooting: Notre Dame 28-70 (40.0 percent), Georgetown 28-64 (43.8 percent). Assists: Notre Dame 19 (Quinn 10), Georgetown 20 (Green 6, Cook 6). Turnovers: Notre Dame 12 (Quinn 4), Georgetown 12 (Bowman 4). Officials: Curtis Shaw, Pat Driscoll, Jamie Luckie. Attendance: 10,508. they pleased early, tossing the Irish in a nine-point deficit less than six minutes in before another furious rally fell short. "These," said junior shooting guard Colin Falls, who scored 18 points, "are life lessons we're learning. No doubt, this is frustrating." Notre Dame had a chance to stay close in the second overtime, but missed four of six foul shots in one stretch. Notre Dame finished 15-of-24 from the line (62.5 percent) while Georgetown was 20-of-26 (76.9). "I love us at the foul line but God, you've got to nail those," said coach Mike Brey. "That surely would have helped us." Georgetown (13-4 overall; 4-2 Big East) placed five players in double figures. Sophomore center Roy Hibbert finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds. After Irish power forward Torin Francis fouled out with 2:01 left in regulation, Hibbert worked free in the low post for six points in the overtimes. Darrel Owens added 18 points off the bench for the visitors. "We did not want to lose this game," said Owens, whose Hoyas were looking to capitalize on Saturday's home win over previously-undefeated and former No. 1 Duke. "It took a lot of guts to come out with a win." Russell Carter brought eight points, four rebounds and three assists in 34 inspired minutes off the bench for the Irish. He had lost his starting spot last week to freshman Kyle McAlarney, but Carter supplied a much-needed shot of adrenaline and enthusiasm in the second half and overtime sessions. "He was excellent," Brey said. With the score tied at 76 and 1.8 seconds remaining in the first overtime, the Irish had to go the length of the floor for a potential and improbable game-winner. They nearly pulled it off. Sophomore Rob Kurz took the spot throw-in -- which meant he couldn't run the baseline while guarded by the 7-foot-2 Hibbert -- to the right of the Hoyas' basket. He sailed a pass into a crowd of players at the other end of the floor before the ball somehow landed in the hands of Quinn. "That's a play we practice in shoot-arounds," Kurz said. "I just tried to throw it up as long as I could. Chris made an unbelievable catch." Quinn had enough time to gather and toss up a quick offering, but the shot pinched between the rim and the backboard as the horn sounded. "I got a good look," Quinn said. "It's a shot I should have made. I rushed it a little bit. I kind of flipped it up there and it's disappointing when it runs off the rim." As Brey watched the sequence unfold from the Irish bench, he figured that his team had finally found a way to win a conference contest. When the ball dropped on the wrong side of the rim, he feared that his team's best chance, like some of the home fans in a hurry to beat traffic, had left the building. "You've got to win it on Quinn's layup in a game like that," Brey said. "You've got to try and steal it." That the Irish even forced an extra session was nothing short of stunning for a team that trailed by 15 points late in the first half and 10 early in the second. Down by four points with under 10 seconds remaining, the Irish ran an out-of-bounds play under their basket for Falls, who was to slide through two screens, receive a pass behind the 3-point arc from Quinn and look to draw a foul on his shot -- something he had done five times this season. Falls gathered and rose, ignored a bump from Hoyas forward Brandon Bowman and fired in a three as referee Curtis Shaw blew his whistle with 1.8 seconds to play. An 80-percent free-throw shooter this season, Falls stepped to the line and sent it into an extra session. "I got a pretty clean look and (Bowman) kind of swiped from under me," Falls said, "and it went in." one that went to Georgetown in double overtime, 85-82. Notre Dame shot 53.6 percent (15-for-28) and scored 26 of its 34 points in the paint in the second half and overtime sessions. "We really got into a nice rhythm," said Kurz, who finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in a career-high 43 minutes. "We did a pretty good job of executing our offense." And trying to make plays, even when shots wouldn't fall. Senior Rick Cornett twice muscled his way in for dunk attempts. One time, he flushed it with two hands, the other, he was fouled. Russell Carter also attacked the rim. "We played more aggressive and a little hungrier in the second half," said guard Colin Falls. Passion playBaseline bits